Along with Ireland’s social and political climate, the country’s cuisine has also changed, evolved and transformed. Traditional Irish kitchen is strongly shaped by its crops and farmed animals – as well as the potato, which was introduced in the second half of the 16th century and quickly became a popular ingredient because of its versatility. Ireland is the ideal place to try specialties that you simply can’t find anywhere else, such as Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, boxty, coddle, and colcannon.